Been trying to find an answer to this on my own, and either no one's asked or talked about this on Dumpshock (or my search-fu is too weak), but I can't seem to find a clear answer. As I understand it, spirits don't have Immunity To Normal Weapons while on the astral and do while materialized on the material plane, but what about on their home metaplane? Does a spirit count as a physical entity there, with all the usual perks and drawbacks, including having ITNW, or is ITNW something a spirit gains only while on the material plane?

Particular scenario here is that the team is not projecting to a metaplane, but are there by having passed through an alchera, and obviously not all are awakened.

I think that depends on the plane and how it works. The meta-planes can work however you, as GM, want them to so I imagine on a plane that closely mirrors the physical, they would have ITNW. On some other plane they might be as susceptible to normal weapons as they are to magic.
However, if you don't want the whole adventure to be a cake walk combat-wise, I'd at least give the big bad some sort of armour or he will probably go down way to easy.

So, I am curious, what normal weapons, exactly, are you taking with you on an astral quest? Kind of a moot point, really.

I assume the hypothetical scenario, we are a mundane that is traveling to the meta planes through some kind of astral rift.

'Runners are playing with Harley again, aren't they? He plays rough.

immunity to normal weapons is not (usually) a spirit power. it is part of the materialize power.

i would say that spirits do not materialize on their home plane, and therefore do not have the power.

although, as was pointed out, that usually won't matter anyways.

Furthermore, you can't win against a spirit on it's home turf anyway.
Anything that is not a complex banishment ritual including the spirits true name simply disrupts the spirit and sends it back to it's home plane.
So, you "kill" it, and it re-appears instantly right there before you and is now angry at you . .

So the only way to "beat" a spirit on his home plane is to learn his true name and bind his services? That sounds like a pretty good run.

yes, either bind him to service you, or outright destroy him.
but you do need the true name. which can only be found by a mage doing a metaplanar quest for it.
so, basically the magicians way of telling the others to go get pizza while he does his thing for once.

Kinda figured that a spirit wouldn't stay dead, but it immediately reappears at the same spot at full health once again?

no idea about the same spot, but the rest? pretty much.
even if it does not appear at full health, spirits heal awfully fast.

Hmmm... that's not the way I've seen it. Following a spirit to its home plane and killing it there was one of the few ways to keep it dead, I thought. Any references either way?

Yeah if you look on pg 133 of Street Magic, one of the reasons for an astral quest is destroying a spirit permanently. Go to its home plane and defeat it there and it is gone for good.

Really?
Must have missed that.

As far as I knew, it was the free spirits, those whom you have to research or track down their formula, that weren't permanently destroyed as long as a single copy of their formula existed.